Orange admits to 3G speed caps

Orange is hoping to lift its 3G speed limits

French iPhone operator Orange has admitted to capping traffic on its 3G network to a fraction of what other carriers are offering.

A spokesperson for the company told French news site France Info that Orange was limiting the load on its 3G network by capping data transfers to 384kbps.

The limit is placed on all 3G devices in the Orange network, but has only recently gained attention due to the flood of new users adopting the Apple smartphone and accessing the 3G network.

By contrast, iPhone users in Germany report speeds of up to 1.8Mbps while speeds on AT&T's network in America average out at roughly 990Kbps, according to a recent survey.

Orange is reportedly looking to remedy the situation in France. The company is said to be in the midst of an upgrade which will bring 3G speeds up to 1Mbps by mid-September.

News of the 3G cap comes as Orange is attempting to deflate another potentially embarrassing situation regarding the iPhone 3G. The company is denying reports that its Polish branch was paying actors to stand in iPhone queues and hype the handset.

A spokesperson for the company told Advertising Age that while the Orange store employees had greeted fans outside the stores, nobody had been paid to stand in the queues.